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Recovery
| last album picture = RelapseRefill.jpg | next album picture = 000MMLP2.jpg | last album = Relapse: Refill | album = Recovery | next album = The Marshall Mathers LP 2 | last release = 2009 | album release = 2010 | next release = 2013}} Recovery is the seventh studio album by American hip hop artist Eminem that was released of June 18, 2010 by Interscope Records' subsidiarity Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records. Originally planed to be released as Relapse 2, Eminem re-titled the album to Recovery when he found the music of the new album to be different Relapse. Production for Recovery took place from 2009 to 2010 with production mainly taken by Alex da Kid, Just Blaze, Boi-1da, Jim Jonsin, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter and Dr. Dre, who only produced one song off the album, guest appearances include Pink, Lil Wayne and Rihanna. The album features more introspective and emotional lyrics and themes than on Relapse, talking about his drug addiction, anxiety, and emotional drives. For the promotion of the album, he featured in TV shows and performed the album's songs live on televised shows, at awards ceremonies, musical events and also headed The Recovery Tour. Upon release, Recovery received generally positive reviews, who complimented Eminem's rapping and performance on the album, although some criticized its inconsistency and production. The album debuted at Number one on the U.S Billboard 200, selling 741,000 copies in its first week and stayed at number one for seven non-consecutive weeks. It also peaked inside the top ten of several other countries and was the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide. By October 2011, the album had sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2011 and was nominated for Best Album, but lost to The Suburbs by Arcade Fire, other awards include American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Detroit Music Awards. The album's lead single Not Afraid, released on April 29, 2010, sold 380,000 digital downloads in its first week debuting at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned Eminem a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Love The Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna reached the top spot in over 20 countries and stayed at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks. With sales of over 5 million in the United States and 10.25 million worldwide, it became Eminem's best selling single to date. He collaborated with Lil Wayne for "No Love". "Space Bound" was released as the fourth and the final single. Four other unreleased songs from the album also charted on the US Billboard Hot 100. Background Eminem released Relapse in 2009 to mixed critical reception. In a press release, he said that him and Dr. Dre recorded considerable amount of music while recording Relapse, saying, "putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get all of the best stuff." According to Angela Yee's Shade 45 interview with Eminem on April 23, 2009, Relapse 2 was to be a continuation of Relapse, during the interview Eminem also confirmed "It's extremely close to being finished, it just depends on how many songs I want to put on it." Recording and production Recording sessions for the album took place during 2009 to 2010 at several recording studios, including Allure Sound in Oak Park, Michigan, 54 Sound and Effigy Studios in Ferndale, Michigan, Black Chiney Studios in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, Boi-1da Studio in Ajax, Ontario, Canada, Playhouse in Parkland, Florida, Avex Honolulu Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, Encore Studios in Burbank, California, Sun Studios in Temple Bar, Dublin, and Shake 'Em Down Studios in Queens, New York City. When premiering his debut single, "Not Afraid", Eminem also let listeners know that "there were not any skits on the album" (so the album would contain more songs than his previous studio albums). He described a song titled "Insult to Injury", in which Eminem performs in his normal voice, as a sequel to "Underground," the final track from the previous album, Relapse. A song on the album "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" featured his rap group D12. Bizarre of D12 said the new song shows the group's strength despite the death of founder Proof by stating: "We're still family, but everybody's got their own situations going on," he added. "No matter what y'all do, you can't hold D12 down. We've been through a lot of shit, but we're still gonna come back and recover." As for guests on the album, Eminem had said back while the album was still titled Relapse 2, he worked with both Dr. Dre and 50 Cent on the album. D12, Royce da 5'9", Lloyd Banks and Cashis had been speculated as possible features on the album. However, none of these artists are actually featured; Recovery only featured guest appearances by rapper Lil Wayne and solo singers Kobe, Pink and Rihanna. He decided to include Pink on "Won't Back Down" after recording his parts first because he "felt like she would smash this record". On the bonus track "Session One", Eminem features supergroup Slaughterhouse, signed with Shady Records. DJ Whoo Kid heard some songs from the album and stated that "The Warning" is a diss record to Mariah Carey, and was not as intense as the entire album would be, saying the album is 'maniacal'. Eminem appeared on Shade 45 with DJ Whoo Kid where he stated that a track with 50 Cent, in which the two rap together on verses, existed. He also confirmed both Just Blaze and Mr. Porter as producers of the album. Themes and composition Eminem, in an interview with Billboard, described that he was in "full-blown addiction" at the time of recording Encore, while he felt happy and "first got sober" during recording Relapse as he was no more an addict. However, he felt that while recording Relapse, he was not "paying attention to what the average listener might like or not like." Just Blaze, the first producer of the album stated that, "Eminem already knew what sort of mistakes he has made with the previous album and where he wanted to go from there." Thus, Recovery was more "emotionally driven" than Relapse, which was, as he explains, "just rap records". The album's artwork featured two covers: One with Eminem walking down a country road and another with him sitting in a transparent living room in the middle of Detroit with the Renaissance Center in the background. The album's liner featured pictures of Eminem such as a picture of him praying and him posing without a shirt on. The album opens with "Cold Wind Blows" in which Eminem sings regarding his "doomed love for his ex-wife" and on "settling scores with rival celebs". In "Talkin’ 2 Myself", he states the harm caused to his image with lyrics such as: "Encore’ I was on drugs, ‘Relapse’ I was flushing them out." "On Fire" shows "a murder-and-dismemberment fantasy" with gruesome rhymes[ and "Won't Back Down" which featured Pink was a heavy metal song. "W.T.P." ("White-Trash Party") sees his singing to go back to his early records with lighter and simple rhythmic frame, while "Going Through Changes", using Black Sabbath's "Changes", depicts Eminem's sorrow and shows himself being trapped due to fame. "Not Afraid" which is a mid-tempo song, focuses on a positive change from Eminem's past experiences, including an end to drug abuse, feuds and violence. Idolator commented that the song was based on the "dark days Eminem has lived through", and "he seems to be at peace with himself now." A writer for MuchMusic website noted that Eminem chose to use his Marshall Mathers ego for the song, rather than Slim Shady. "No Love" features Lil Wayne as a hype man which is followed by Eminem's verses which according to Sam Wolfson of NME are "the best verses of his career."The meaning of "Space Bound" is not obvious or completely clear and according to Sasha Grey who is featured in its video, the meaning can be interpreted "in many ways". Jim Jonsin of MTV spoke about Eminem's two egos seen in the video and compared it to Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" video while Grey believed that the alternate Eminem who appears in the car is his subconscious. "Cinderella Man" with a "festive beat" had "the template of every album since Encore (2004)", with many minor keys and traces of post-grunge rock. "25 to Life" shows his discomfiture and depicts that the "selfish bitch" pulling him back "these days is rap itself." Despite the lyrics being tighter throughout the album, "So Bad" and "Almost Famous" views his other side of Slim Shady; his alter ego. The hip-hop ballad "Love The Way You Lie" describes a couple's refusal to separate despite having an abusive relationship. Rihanna sings the chorus again, backed by an electric guitar and a piano, while acoustic guitar, violin and pounding drums accompany Eminem's verses. The singing of Rihanna despite of being without vibrato, her voice "shows grief and regret".Towards the end he claims his influence, by "fevered rhymes" on "You’re Never Over". Release and promotion Recovery was confirmed during a press release by Eminem's label on March 5, 2010, and was originally titled Relapse 2. On April 13, 2010, Eminem revealed through Twitter that Relapse 2 was scrapped. It was followed by him tweeting "Recovery" with a link to his website. Eminem said "I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year. But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title." He later released a freestyle titled "Despicable" over "Over" by Drake and "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" by Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana as promo for the first single, "Not Afraid", which debuted on Shade 45 on April 29. Eventually, Recovery was released on June 18 in the Europe and on June 21 in the United States and the United Kingdom Singles The first single, "Not Afraid" was released on Shade 45 and has received free streaming on Eminem's website since then. The song sold 380,000 digital downloads in its first week, and became the sixteenth song in the history of the US Billboard Hot 100 to debut at number one; it is only the second hip hop single to debut at number one following "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112. For shipments of 4,000,000 copies, it was certified 4× Platinum in the United States. The official music video of "Not Afraid" which was directed by Rich Lee, premiered on June 5, 2010 on Vevo. The music video, shot in Newark, New Jersey, won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.[ The song also won the award of the Best Rap Solo Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone praised Eminem's commitment on his new music and lyrical ability noting "Over a dark, operatic beat, Eminem delivers rhymes that are typically acrobatic – and typically heavy-handed. But the anger has a gathering quality." The second single was released on August 9, 2010 titled "Love the Way You Lie", which featured Rihanna. The song debuted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked number one. The song gave Eminem his fourth US Billboard Hot 100 number one and Rihanna her seventh. It also claimed the top spot on over 20 other charts worldwide. "Love the Way You Lie" went on to be number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks and was certified 5× Platinum by RIAA for sales of 5 million in US. The song became Eminem's best-selling single of all time, selling 9.3 million copies worldwide. Joseph Kahn directed the music video which premiered on August 5, 2010. The video starred Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox in a love-hate relationship. Michael Menachem from Billboard commented that "Rihanna's chorus is exquisitely melodic and surprisingly hopeful, complementing the turmoil of Em's dark, introspective rant."The song was performed at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and was voted the best performer of the ceremony in an MTV poll, earning 34 percent of votes. "No Love", which features American rapper Lil Wayne, was the third single released on October 5, 2010. "No Love" featured sample of "What Is Love" by Haddaway, which was done by producer Just Blaze. The song peaked number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks. The music video, directed by Chris Robinson, premiered on September 30 via Vevo and various MTV networks. The video was about a young school boy who was bullied but had the urge to stand up after being motivated by listening to songs by Eminem and Lil Wayne. They performed "No Love" on Saturday Night Live on December 18, 2010. "Space Bound" was released as the fourth and final single from the album on March 18, 2011.74 English songwriter Steve McEwan provided additional vocals in the chorus of the song.75 The single did not enter US Billboard Hot 100, however was certified Gold in United States on February 9, 2012. The music video for "Space Bound" was shot in February 2011 by Joseph Kahn. The uncensored music video was released on June 24, 2011 at 5 PM EST on iTunes only and the official video then premiered on Vevo on June 27 at 3 AM EST.77 The plot stars actress Sasha Grey and Eminem in a relationship which ends violently; the video caused controversy for a bloody scene in which Eminem shoots himself. The video was slammed by British anti-violence campaigners. Anti-violence group, Mothers Against Violence, told the Daily Mirror, "It's all about the money with these videos. Eminem isn't thinking about the families affected."The music video was then analyzed by Sasha Grey and the song's producer, Jim Jonsin who both agreed that the video had no certain message, but could be interpreted "in many ways". Songs "25 to Life", "Won't Back Down", "Talkin' 2 Myself", and "Cold Wind Blows" also debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 without release as singles. "Cinderella Man" was certified Gold in the United States on February 17, 2012. Reception Reviews Recovery received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 28 reviews. Allmusic's David Jeffries praised Eminem's performance as potent and energetic, and said that the album "may be flawed ... but he hasn't sounded this unfiltered and proud since The Marshall Mathers LP". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph commended him for addressing more mature, introspective subject matter and successfully "framing his misogyny, homophobia and all-round bigotry with an undeniable sense of empathy and humanity." Jody Rosen, writing in Rolling Stone, called it Eminem's "most casual-sounding album in years" and said that he "sounds content to be rap's wittiest head case." Sam Wolfson of NME called him "self aware, technically advanced, intelligent, able to go at speeds other than full throttle". Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club felt that his lively raps make up for the "endless atonement metaphors" that occasionally weigh down the album. Kitty Empire, writing in The Observer, said that it is "better than average" as a "latterday Eminem album" that shows, "in bursts, Eminem's health is very nearly rude." MSN Music's Robert Christgau said that, although the cleverness "varies" and the themes "rarely" upheld by his "long-recessive sense of play", the album is a comeback "for Eminem, not Slim Shady—and for Marshall at his most martial. His most confessional as well". In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times regarded Eminem as "frustratingly limited in his topical range" and called Recovery "the most insular of all his releases". Andy Gill of The Independent commented that "there's nothing here quite as witty or engaging as" on his previous work. Pitchfork Media's Jayson Greene perceived a lack of lyrical depth and wrote "for the first time in his career, he actually sounds clumsy". Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot said that it lacks hooks and fun: "The subversive humor is long gone, and his cultural references ... remain dated".23 Slant Magazine's M.T. Richards also found Eminem's pop culture references "inane" and called the album's material "unsurprisingly hollow" with punchlines that "rarely resonate". Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss found his rhyme schemes "dazzling" and wordplay "clever", but panned its production as "monochromatic and monotonous". The Guardian's Paul MacInnes said that the music lacks consistency because of a "piecemeal approach to production" and "fashionable soft-rock samples". Charts and sales The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 741,000 copies. It became Eminem's sixth album to debut at number one in the United States. In its second week of release it remained at number-one and sold 313,000 copies. It also entered at number one on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Rap Albums chart. In its ninth week of release the album remained at number one for its seventh non-consecutive week and sold 116,000 copies. By March 2011, the album was number one on the all-time list of albums with the most digital sales, with over 922,000 copies digitally sold at the time. As of July 2011, the album broke the digital record and became the first album to sell one million digital copies. It held the record for most digital albums sold, but was later outsold by Adele's 21 album. On August 18, 2011, the album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in shipments and sales. As of November 13, 2013, the album has sold 4,513,000 copies in the United States. Since it's United States release, the album spent a total of 27 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, which is more than any other hip-hop album since 2003. It spent seven weeks at number one in both the US & UK amongst other nations. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 140,000 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. In Canada, the album sold 85,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number one on Canada's Albums Chart. The album spent six consecutive weeks at number one, and retook the top spot after one week at number two. As of August 18, 2010, the album has sold 277,000 copies in Canada. In Japan, Oricon recorded a debut of number six with 20,678 units sold. It also went gold in its first week in New Zealand and Australia, debuting at number one in both countries. The album has since sold over 210,000 copies in Australia, certifying it triple platinum. By the end of its release year, Recovery had sold over 5.7 million copies worldwide.It was one of the best-selling album of 2010 in the United States with 3.4 million copies, and it had sold 2.3 million copies in other territories for a total of 5.7 million copies worldwide by December 2010. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was also the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide. The album was the best-selling album in Canada in 2010 selling 435,000 copies; more than double the album in second place. Recovery was the third best-selling album of 2010 in Australia. Since its release in 2010, the album has sold 4.5 million copies in the United States, and over 10 million copies worldwide. Awards Track listing | writing_credits = yes | extra_column = Producer(s) | title18 = Ridaz | writer18 = Mathers, Young | extra18 = Dr. Dre | length18 = 5:00 | title19 = Session One | writer19 = Mathers, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, Dominick Wickliffe, Smith | extra19 = Just Blaze | note19 = featuring Slaughterhouse | length19 = 4:28 | title20 = Not Afraid | note20 = music video | writer20 = Mathers, Resto, Matthew Samuels, J. Evans, Matthew Burnett | extra20 = Boi-1da, Jordan Evans (add.), Matthew Burnett (add.), Eminem (add.) | length20 = 4:08 }} Personnel * Erik Alcock – Guitar * Julian Alexander – Art Direction, Design * Mark Batson – Keyboards * Kip Blackshire – Vocals, Chorus * Boi 1da – Producer * Nick Brongers – Producer * Matthew Burnett – Strings, Additional Production * Damon "Bing" Chatman – Assistant Coordinator * Larry Chatman – Production Coordination, Project Coordinator * Christian Clancy – Marketing * Kristen Ashley Cole – Vocals, Chorus * M. Crawford – Composer * Sean Cruse – Guitar * Kal "Boogie" Dellaportas – Engineer * Terry Dexter – Vocals, Chorus * DJ Khalil – Producer * DJ Mormile – A&R * Dr. Dre – Producer, Executive Producer, Mixing * Eminem – Mixing, Additional Production * Jordan Evans – Strings, Additional Production * John Fisher – Studio Manager * Michael Gamble – Engineer * Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – Mastering * Christal Garrick II – Vocals, Chorus * Nikki Grier – Vocals * Havoc – Producer * Emile Haynie – Producer * Howie Herbst – Assistant Engineer * Matt Huber – Assistant Engineer * Chin Injeti – Bass, Guitar * Tony Iommi – Composer * Mauricio Iragorri – Engineer * Joe Strange – Engineer, Assistant Engineer * Jim Jonsin – Keyboards, Programming, Producer * Sly Jordan – Saxophone, Vocals, Chorus * Just Blaze – Producer, Mixing * Danny Keyz – Keyboards * Alex Da Kid – Producer, Mixing * Rich King – Vocals, Chorus * Trevor Lawrence – Keyboards * Spike Lindsey – Assistant Engineer * Nick Low-Beer – Drum Programming * Magnedo – Producer * Deborah Mannis-Gardner – Sample Clearance * Robert Marks – Engineer * Rob Marks – Mixing * Marshall Mathers – Composer * Steve McEwan – Guitar, Vocals on track 10 * Tracy McNew – A&R * Alex Merzin – Engineer * Danny Morris – Keyboards * Mr. Porter – Producer * Dawaun Parker – Keyboards * Nigel Parry – Photography * Chris "Trife" Patilis – Assistant Engineer * Kirdis Postelle – Project Coordinator * Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin Quee – Drums, Producer, Engineer, Drum Arrangements * Rahki – Keyboards, Programming * Khalil Abdul Rahman – Keyboards, Drum Programming * Luis Resto – Keyboards * Robert Reyes – Assistant Engineer, Vocal Engineer * Makeba Riddick – Vocal Producer * Liz Rodrigues – Vocals * Paul D. Rosenberg – Executive Producer * Matthew "Boi 1da" Samuels – Drums, Engineer * Jason Sangerman – Marketing Coordinator * Les Scurry – Production Coordination * Daniel Seeff – Guitar * Script Shepherd – Producer * Manny Smith – A&R * Mike Strange – Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Engineer, Mixing * Marcos Tovar – Engineer * Bill Ward – Composer * Ryan West – Engineer, Mixing * Jason Wilkie – Assistant Engineer * Andre Young – Composer * Ianthe Zevos – Creative Director References Category:Recovery Category:2010 Category:Albums